CHOPSTICK HOLDER

SUPPORT POUR BAGUETTES A RIZ

English Abstract

A chopstick holder comprising a housing having first and second
opposed side walls and first and second opposed end walls, the housing having
a
substantially rectangular cross sectional configuration with an open upper end
and an
open lower end, at least one wall retaining segment extending between the
first and
second side walls, the wall segments being designed to define a channel for a
first
chopstick and being designed to retain a leaf spring which biases a second
chopstick
against a second end wall. One of the end walls extends downwardly a distance
substantially longer than the other side wall to provide support and thereby
permit use of
only the index finger for operation of the chopsticks.

Claims

Claim 1:
1. A chopstick holder consisting essentially of a housing having a side wall,
a second side wall spaced therefrom, a first end wall extending between said
first and
second side wall, and a second end wall extending between said first and
second side
walls, said housing having a substantially rectangular cross sectional
configuration with
an open upper end between said first and second side walls and said first and
second end
walls, and an open lower end between said first and second side walls and said
first and
second end walls, each of said first and second side walls and said first and
second
end walls having a substantially uniform thickness, at least one spring
retaining wall
segment extending between said first and second side walls, said spring
retaining wall
segment being located proximate said first end wall to define a first
chopstick receiving
channel between said first end wall and said spring retaining wall segment,
said first end
wall and a portion of each of said first and second side walls adjacent said
first end wall
extending downwardly from said open lower end a distance substantially greater
than a
distance of said second end wall to thereby define a U-shaped channel for
receiving the
first chopstick, and a leaf spring having first and second end portions within
said housing,
a first end portion of said leaf spring being retained by said wall segment, a
second end
portion of said leaf spring being retained by said wall segment, said second
end portion of
said leaf spring being arranged to exert a biasing force against a second
chopstick to
retain the second chopstick against said second end wall.
9

Claim 2:
The chopstick holder of Claim 1 wherein said housing is formed of a
plastic material.
Claim 3:
The chopstick holder of Claim 1 including a second spring retaining wall
segment slightly spaced from said first spring retaining wall segment, said
first end of
said leaf spring being retained between said first and second wall retaining
wall
segments.
Claim 4:
The chopstick holder of Claim 3 wherein said first end of said leaf spring
has an enlarged portion.
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Claim 5:
The chopstick holder of Claim 4 wherein said leaf spring includes a
plurality of ribs along a portion thereof retained between said first and
second spring
retaining wall segments.
Claim 6:
In combination, a chopstick holder consisting essentially of first and
second chopsticks, a housing having a first side wall, a second side wall
spaced
therefrom, a first end wall extending between said first and second side
walls, and
second end wall extending between said first and second side walls, said
housing having
a substantilly rectangular cross sectional configuration with an open upper
end between
said first and second side walls and said first and second end walls, and an
open lower
end between said first and second side walls and said first and second end
walls, each of
said first and second side walls and said first and second end walls having a
substantially
uniform thickness, at least one spring retaining wall segment extending
between said first
and second side walls, said spring retaining wall segment being located
proximate said
first end wall to define a first chopstick receiving channel between said
first end wall and
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said spring retaining wall segment, said first end wall and a portion of each
of said first
and second side walls adjacent said first end wall extending downwardly from
said open
lower end a distance substantially greater than a distance of said second wall
to thereby
define a U-shaped channel for receiving the first chopstick, and a leaf spring
having first
and second end portions within said housing, a first end portion of said leaf
spring being
retained by said wall segment, a second end portion of said leaf spring being
retained by
said wall segment, said second end portion of said leaf spring being arranged
to exert a
biasing force against said second chopstick to retain said second chopstick
against said
second end wall.
Claim 7:
The chopstick holder of Claim 6 wherein said housing is formed of a
plastic material.
Claim 8:
The chopstick holder of Claim 6 including a second spring retaining wall
segment slightly spaced from said first spring retaining wall segment, said
first end of
said leaf spring being retained between said first and second wall retaining
wall
segments.
12

Description

~ ~ ~~42~
Patent Application
of
Ronald Hui
for
CHOPSTICK HOLDER
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to chopstick holders.
Background of the Invention
Chopsticks a widely used in certain cultures, one of the largest uses being in
China. With the
growing popularity of Chinese food in North American society, the use of
chopsticks in eating Chinese
food has become somewhat of a general practice. However, the proper use ~of
chopsticks requires both
dexterity and a certain degree of practice. For those who only use chopsticks
on certain occasions, it
becomes difficult to properly utilize the utensils.
Chopsticks are used as utensils for food which is served in small pieces and
can therefore easily be
handled thereby. They are generally slim tapered sticks having a length in the
area of 25 cm and are
usually made of wood or bamboo although other materials have also been used.
In use, one of the
chopsticks remains stationary, it being held at the base of the thumb and
braced against the top of the
1

d
m
fourth finger. The other chopstick, which is the moveable one, is held by the
thumb and the index and
middle fingers in a manner similar to that of a writing instrument such as a
pen or pencil. The food is
normally engaged between the two sticks. For most applications, it is
important that the sticks move in
the same plane - that they don't tend to cross each other but rather are
pressed opposite each other on
the food piece.
There have been proposals in the prior art for various aids for users of
chopsticks. However, the
prior art proposals can still require considerable dexterity by the user as
they do not ensure that the
chopsticks, when held together, move in the same plane.
Summary of the Invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a chopstick holder which
serves as a housing for
a pair of chopsticks and also as a guide for the moving chopstick when used.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a chopstick holder
which is simple to
manufacture and easy to use.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a chopstick holder
wherein the moving
chopstick is guided in a single plane so as to meet the fixed chopstick when
used.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
chopstick holder which
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comprises a body having means to receive first and second chopsticks therein,
the first chopstick
receiving means being adapted to retain the chopstick in a first position, a
second chopstick retaining
means being adapted to retain the second chopstick and to permit pivotable
movement of the second
chopstick, and biasing means to maintain the second chopstick in a spaced
relationship from the first
chopstick.
In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a chopstick
holder and guide
comprising a housing having a first end wall and a second end wall opposed
thereto, means joining said
first and second end walls, means for retaining a chopstick adjacent to a
iPirst one of the end walls,
means for retaining a second chopstick adjacent a second of the end walls, and
biasing means located
between the end walls acting to bias the second chopstick against the second
end wall.
In greater detail, the chopstick holder according to the present invention is
designed to receive a pair
of chopsticks and allow the user to move one of the chopsticks relative to
t:he other while guiding the
chopstick so that they meet together when moved in a pivotable fashion.
The chopstick holder of the present invention may be formed of any suitable
material such as plastic,
wood, metals, composites, etc.
In the preferred embodiment, the chopstick holder is designed to retain one
chopstick against an end
wall of the holder in a fixed manner. In the use of chopsticks, this is
conventional since only one
chopstick is usually moved. The means for retaining the fixed or lower
chopstick in position may be any
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2169420
suitable - any frictional engagement means may be employed.
The second or moveable chopstick is designed to move in a pivotable manner
while being guided
such that its end will meet the end of the fixed chopstick. For this purpose,
the chopstick is only
permitted to move in a single plane such that it will meet the fixed
chopstick. The invention preferably
includes biasing means for biasing the moveable chopstick into a spaced apart
relationship with the fixed
chopstick.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Having thus generally described the invention, reference will be made to the
accompanying drawings
illustrating an embodiment thereof, in which:
Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a chopstick holder according to one
embodiment of the present
invention;
Figure 2 is an end elevational view as seen from the left hand side of higure
1;
Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines3-~of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines ~ ~.of Figure 1;
4

Figure 5 is a plan view of one embodiment of a biasing spring as used in the
holder shown in the
embodiment of Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the biasing spring of Figure 5;
Figures 7 to 9 illustrate operation of the chopsticks and chopsticks holder of
the present invention;
Figure 10 is a side elevational view similar to the view of Figure 1, but
illustrating the mounting
of chopsticks in the holder;
Figure 11 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of a chopstick
holder according to the
present invention;
Figure 12 is an end elevational view as seen from the left hand side of Figure
11;
and
Figure 13 is a top plan view thereof.
Detailed Description
Referring to the drawings in greater detail and by reference characters
thereto, one embodiment of
the chopstick holder of the present invention is illustrated in Figures 1 to 9
and which holder is generally
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R
designated by reference numeral 10.
Chopstick holder 10, as may be seen in Figures 1 to 4, has a first end wall 12
which is of a
generally rectangular configuration and an opposed end wall 14 which is also
of a rectangular
configuration, but has a shorter length. Interconnecting end walls 12 and 14
are a pair of substantially
identical side walls 16 and 18.
As may be seen in Figure 1, side wall 16 has a slightly curved upper edge 20
and a bottom edge
22 which extends inwardly from end wall 14. In so doing, there is thus fonr~ed
a leg portion 24 which
is integral with and extends downwardly from side wall 16. A similar lei;
portion 25 is formed in
conjunction with side wall 18.
Formed intermediate of and extending between the inner surfaces of side walls
16 and 18 are a pair
of parallel wall segments 26 and 28. Wall segments 26 and 28 are relatively
short and in the illustrated
embodiment, are substantially parallel to end wall 12.
The invention includes the use of biasing means which in this embodiment is a
spring member
generally designated by reference numeral 30. As shown in Figures 5 and 6,
spring member 30 is a
substantially rectangular member formed of a suitably resilient material
(plastic or metal are preferable);
spring member 30 has a pair of substantially planar opposed sides 32 and 34. A
first end 36 has a
slightly rounded tapered configuration as seen in Figures 5 and 6 while a
second end 38 has an enlarged
portion. Adjacent enlarged end 38 are a plurality of raised parallel ribs 40
on both side 32 and side 34.
6

21 ~9~2~
In operation, spring member 30 is inserted in the holder, as shown in Figures
1 and 2, such that end
38 is retained between wall segments 26 and 28 with ribs 40 assisting in
maintaining the spring in the
desired position. End 36 of spring member 30 is adapted to abut an interior
surface of side wall 16 after
being bent in an arcuate configuration (see Figure 1).
The holder is sized such that the space between wall segment 26 and the inner
surface of wall 12
is adapted to receive a chopstick 42 which may be inserted and retained
therein (see Figure 10).
Subsequently, a second chopstick 44 is inserted adjacent the inner surface of
end wall 14 (see Figure
10) with spring member 30 biasing chopstick 44 against the end wall 14.
Chopsticks 42 and 44 should
be inserted approximately an equal distance such that the tops lie in the same
plane as do the bottoms
of the chopsticks.
In use, and as shown in Figures 7 to 9, legs 24 and 25 are gripped between
thumb 46 and the hand
of the user. This will retain chopstick 42 in position; the user may then
place an index finger 48 over
chopstick 44 as shown in Figure 8. Thus, the pressing of the index finger 48
will cause movement of
chopstick 44 towards chopstick 42 thus enabling the user to pick up any food.
Releasing of pressure by
index finger 48 will permit spring member 30 to bias chopstick 44 to its
original position.
As may be seen from the above, pressing and release of chopstick 44 witlh
index finger 48 will allow
the user to handle the chopsticks with ease and to pick up food securely and
elegantly.
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A further embodiment is illustrated in Figures 11 to 13. In this embodiment,
similar reference
numerals are used for similar components except with a prime. In this
embodiment, a ring 50 is secured
between side wall 16' and 18' by means of a rivet type device generally
designated by reference numeral
52. Resilient ring 50 may be formed of any suitable resilient material such as
plastic and would be
adapted to retain a chopstick against end wall 14'.
It will be understood that the above described embodiments are for purposes of
illustration only and
that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the
spirit and scope of the
invention.
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Representative Drawing